It was an honour to be asked to film Becky & Andy’s winter wonderland themed wedding this week at The Ashbourne Hotel in North Killingholme.
We began at our mother and father of the bride’s house, where all of the bridesmaids and flowergirls were excited and getting ready for the big day. We had a make-up station in the conservatory and hair going on in the kitchen.
I got some lovely candid shots as well as some of Becky’s dress, perfume, veil, shoes and jewelry.
After an hour or so, I took my leave to visit Andy who was getting ready with his son and best man at the couple’s home. I usually do this as the shots I generally use of the bride are the ones where she has most of her make-up and/or hair done, instead of the shots of them just getting started.
The groom-zone was as chilled out as I’ve ever seen, we laughed together as they tried to figure out how to tie a tie (as they hadn’t done so since their school days!) I pointed them towards YouTube but eventually they got Andy’s son who is still in secondary school, to lend a hand!
The guys wanted some shots of them choosing a whiskey from Andy’s shelves as they were pretty excited that they were taking a hip flask with them to the wedding.
We had make-up completed and hair well underway! The bridesmaids got their dresses on and everyone looked a picture, especially the little ones!
It’s usually at this point the bride starts to get nervous, but Becky was so calm and collected and I think it helped everyone else feel the same way.
Little Evie had her make-up done, and everyone laughed as she pouted with such catwalk confidence to have her lips done!
We all know how hard it is to find a decent dress with pockets, but to find a wedding dress with pockets? Becky hit the jackpot and looked a million dollars in it.
Her mum and bridesmaids kindly fastened up the buttons at the back, she stepped into her shoes and put on her jewelry and perfume.
We popped downstairs to get some shots of the bridal party all ready to go, then I headed off for the ceremony!
The bride entered to “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer and it was just like being in a romcom movie! The couple had a lovely ceremony with versions of the vows I’d never heard before, they included lines such as “you bring out the best in me” and “you will never be alone” – I highly recommend watching their film below to hear them fully, they were just beautiful.
There were also extracts from the lovely poem “This is my Husband, This is my Wife” which I recognised as the poem my mother-in-law read during our own ceremony.
The couple were clapped and cheered as they lead everyone out of the ceremony which went perfectly.
The couple were greeted with champagne as they enjoyed some time together in the back of their wedding car. Jo from Select Limos took them for a spin while the guests put the bar staff to good use!
I kept the cork from their bottle and included it with their USB giftbox.
The issue with weddings later in the year is that we quickly lose the lovely natural light! So we had to get the family formal shots right away upon the couples return.
When doing video only, I generally keep the camera on the scene until there’s a laugh or a funny gesture that I know will be the clip I will use. Here, the photographer was covering the bride and flowergirls, but I positioned myself here and asked the bridesmaids to turn and look at me.
It’s a very busy day for any couple; so I like to make sure they have around 20 minutes to just be alone and undisturbed – stealing them for photographs is a perfect opportunity for this! It’s very easy to tell someone to “act natural and forget the camera” but it’s much harder to do this once you’ve been told. Instead, I do forced candid imagery, which means I’ll tell the couple something like “just walk towards me slowly and look at each other” – this means they are walking and smiling their way, not my way. It gives them the freedom to hold hands, link arms, say something funny, whatever is natural to them. This is very important to me because my passion is capturing the true love and nature of my couples; very few people are professional models and many are even uncomfortable of the camera, so just asking them to focus on each other and do a little walk is far less intimidating.
The room had quickly been transformed into a winter wonderland space, with faux snow, pinecones, branches, logs and LED candles everywhere; a perfect theme for a December wedding.
The new Mr & Mrs Holmes were announced in and everyone was seated for their meal, the couple were even kind enough to provide all three courses to the photographer and I which was both delicious and extremely appreciated.
After the meal, the father of the bride spoke first, followed by the groom and then the best man as tradition goes!
The couple had a photobooth which was enjoyed by many (mostly adults!) and the kids started a venue-wide faux snowball fight with the table decorations!
The DJ started the music with some children’s songs and a game of pass-the-parcel was played.
The couple cut their cake and had their first dance to “Always” by Jon Bon Jovi (a personal favourite of mine, so I sang and had a bit of a dance myself while I circled the couple and their little girl while filming.
Huge congratulations and thanks to the new Mr & Mrs Holmes, for trusting me to capture their special day and for being so wonderful to work with. I wish you all the best for your marriage!
“We booked Aimee to video our wedding with only a few weeks notice. Aimee was brilliant from the first email and call and kept in touch every week. She really got to know us and got to know what we wanted capturing on the day. We got on really well and we had some photos and a highlight reel within a couple of days and the full video within 2 weeks. We would 100% recommend her to anyone.
Thanks Aimee you are fantastic at what you do!– Becky, bride.
